Bondage

"Lord Wandu."

Jin Shu put the bamboo basket hanging in his hand at the door, stepped forward a few steps and walked in front of Wan Xiao.

"Why did Lord Wandu come to my place today? But what's the matter with looking for slaves?"

Wan Xiao smiled and said, "You have already left the palace, why do you still call yourself a slave?"

Jin Shu smiled innocently, feeling a little inexplicably ashamed.

She is used to shouting, and she can't change her mouth for a moment.

Wan Xiao looked up at her, and saw that she was wearing a coarse cloth skirt and a simple cloth scarf on her head, she looked like an ordinary person.

There are only two slender and elegant silver ring bracelets on his hands, and occasionally there will be a crisp jingle sound when he moves, which looks a bit lively and cheerful.

He looked down, then looked at the bamboo basket that Cai Jinshu had thrown at the door just now, his eyes closed and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Wan Du Lord hasn't said why he is looking for me today?"

Wan Xiao said: "A few days ago, the Empress asked me to come and see how you are doing. I'll come and have a look today when I have free time. It's nothing serious."

After finishing speaking, Wan Xiao paused for a moment and asked again: "What are you going to do?"

"I want to go to the street to buy a piece of tofu and cook it at night."

"Do you have money?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wan Xiao probably felt that something was wrong, so Wan Xiao added with a smile: "The empress is afraid that you will be out of the palace for the first time, and life will be difficult."

"Where can it be?"

Jin Shu patted the bulging purse at his waist, and replied with bent eyebrows: "When I left the palace, my mother gave me a lot of money, and Sister Luan Jian and Sister Heng Zhiheng Wu also gave me a lot of money. Life is always enough. of."

"Furthermore, Lord Wan also found a job for my husband-in-law in the Beijing camp. He is now a general manager, and his monthly salary is enough for the two of us to live on."

"How does your husband treat you?"

"It's good."

When Jin Shu said this, her face was full of shyness, and her eyes seemed to sparkle.Wan Xiao looked at her lips and smiled slightly, and muttered something in a low voice.

"Have you two decided on a wedding date?"

"It's settled."

Inexplicably nervous, he wiped his hands on the back of his clothes, and Jin Shu's tone was full of sweetness: "It's scheduled for the tenth day of July, and there is no one in my family, and there should only be a few neighbors with me on the wedding day." Sister Luanjian will come, if Lord Wandu is fine that day, you can come and have a wedding wine."

I don't know if Wan Xiao's high status will come, but after Jin Shu finished speaking, he felt a little regretful.

He was just following the order of the empress to see if she was doing well, and she would invite people rashly, which might be annoying.

She had a simple mind, and what she was thinking was clearly displayed on her face. Wan Xiao smiled slightly and nodded in response.

The two of them were speechless for a while, and when they were about to leave, he saw a tall man coming from the corner of the street. The man was holding several thick pieces of wood in his hands, and he seemed to be struggling.

Wan Xiao was a little surprised when he saw this, he didn't expect to see this man today.

"Brother Chengzu."

As soon as he saw the man, Jin Shu ran over with a smile all over his face.

"I'm strong, so I'll carry it."

"No, there is dirt on this thing, don't dirty your dress."

Jin Shu smiled sweetly: "Wash it when it's dirty."

"The water in the well is cold these days, so I'll just carry it."

The man's tone was gentle, he carried a few pieces of wood and strode towards Jinshu's house, when he saw Wan Xiao at the door, he was also taken aback, put down the pole in his hand and called out Lord Wan in a daze.

This man still had a somewhat dull appearance, and he didn't look like a clever person, but because of this, his eyes were clear and devoid of calculations, revealing a bit of honesty and candor.

"I am ordered by the empress to come and see the brocade book, what are you?"

The man said: "A few days ago, the Beijing camp cut down some wood for the army's needs, and these corners that did not meet the requirements were thrown outside the Beijing camp. Today, when I was resting, I wanted to pick some back for the brocade book. Chop it up to make firewood for her in winter."

"There are some better ones left, let's tie up a few wooden stools..."

The man answered respectfully, and the conversation was full of things that ordinary people worry about every day, such as food, rice, oil, salt, and fireworks in the world.

Wan Xiao nodded slowly and showed a smile.

This man is not a man of great talent, but he is a good hand at living.

Seeing that Jin Shu was bending over to check those logs, and looking up at the two of them with a silly smile from time to time, Wan Xiao knew that this girl's future life would not be wrong.

He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long time, he murmured that it was very good.

"I have other things to do today, so I won't bother you two."

"Wan Du Lord, just go to work, don't worry about slaves."

Jin Shu looked at Wan Xiao and said, "I'm troublesome Governor Wan to report back to your majesty, saying that the slaves are living a good life, so don't let your majesty worry about the slaves."

"I know."

Wan Xiao nodded, bid farewell to the two of them, then turned and left.

After he walked out, he heard the low and steady conversation between the woman and the man behind him.

"Brother Chengzu, let me come."

"I'll do it, Mo tied your hand."

"I asked Grandma Sun to leave tofu for me yesterday, and I bought some fresh fish and mutton at the market this morning. How about I make you fresh fish tofu stew and boiled mutton balls tonight?"

"to make."

"The legs of the wardrobe in your house are a bit soft and rotten. I think the former owner didn't maintain it well. I'll help you find a good piece of wood to replace it in a while. Don't wait until it becomes rotten and crooked in the future."

"Thank you, Brother Chengzu."

"Brother Chengzu..."

Wan Xiao stood still but didn't turn his head. The gate of the house was slowly closed, and he still didn't move for a long time.

Until the yelling of vendors in the streets and alleys became more harsh, he smiled faintly and strode towards the palace.

After the capture of Nanqing, there will be no more difficulties in the court, and the people's lives can be regarded as living and working in peace and contentment.Shen Qianyu knows people well, and is a rare emperor without suspicion. Therefore, the court is unprecedentedly united, and the officials are all dedicated to the country and the people.Even if there are those who occasionally have the intention of gaining profit, they are mostly exposed to Shen Qianyu's moody and despotic power, and dare not make mistakes.

Nothing happened in court, Wan Xiao felt that the time passed extremely quickly, and soon it was the time for Jin Shu to get married.

On the ninth night of the seventh month, he received the congratulatory gift from Song Wan and Jin Shu and left the palace, and arrived at Jin Shu's house early the next morning.

Luanjian also came to the Jinshu family early to help, and neither party had any elders involved in this marriage, so they did not follow the old rules.

Neither Luan Jian nor Wan Xiao revealed their identities, so the neighbors who came to congratulate them all thought they were Jin Shu's distant relatives.

During the banquet, everyone toasted and celebrated together, and they were all very happy.

The man was wearing a bridegroom's wedding dress, which made him look bright and handsome.Wan Xiao looked at the unconcealable smile on his face, and laughed too.

"Brother, you look familiar."

During the dinner, a man looked at Wan Xiao, frowned slightly, wondering what he was thinking, Wan Xiao smiled and said, "Maybe I have seen it somewhere, what does this brother do for a living?"

"I am a colleague of Chengzu, and both of us are in the Beijing camp."

The man looked at Wan Xiao for a long time, and then shook his head: "But I was originally a shopkeeper in Shangjing, maybe I met you when I was walking around the streets before, so it's okay, brother, don't take it to heart."

"My husband was originally a shopkeeper. A few years ago, all the ministers were at the gate of the palace... On that day, when he heard that the prince was in trouble, he threw away his pole and ran to Suhe River."

Sitting next to the man was a woman with a delicate face. When she spoke, her tone was gentle, with a bit of admiration and admiration for her husband.

"Unexpectedly, before he left, he threw the pole to my mother. My mother didn't know what to do, so she kept it for him, and often went to his house to see if there was any overnight patronage."

"When my husband came back later, he came to thank my mother many times."

Luanjian looked at the woman upon hearing the words, and after praising her mother for her integrity, she continued to praise her husband for being righteous and a model of a real man.

"What a man should do is not worth mentioning."

After finishing speaking, the man touched his wife carefully, with a bit of embarrassment in his eyes.

Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter, and Jin Shu walked out of the house in wedding attire, holding two dishes in his hand.

"What are you laughing at, so happy?"

"Laugh, you look beautiful today."

The person who spoke was a plump woman, Wan Xiao smelled a strong bean fragrance on her body, and guessed that this person should be the tofu selling grandma that Jin Shu talked about.

The weddings of people in the market are not as particular about the weddings of high-ranking families, especially since the two of them have no parents, so when they saluted earlier, they worshiped the memorial tablets of the two families.

After the ceremony, everyone sat in the courtyard and had a banquet, but Wan Xiao found an excuse to go to the back of the house.

Walking in front of a dark room, Wan Xiao paused slightly, and after a moment of silence, he raised his hand and pushed the door open.

There is an altar in the house, on which there are more than a dozen tablets of ancestor gods.Wan Xiao glanced over those tablet tablets, and saw that his great-great-grandfather tested Zhang Gong, the god of Li Gongfu first, Zhang's mother Xu, Li's mother Wang, his brother Li's family Chengji, and his sister Li Hui. and so on.

Standing in front of the altar, he stared blankly at the names that he thought had been forgotten in his mind long ago, but in fact never faded, and wept silently.

There were unlit incense sticks and fire on the altar, Wan Xiao stepped forward and took out three sticks of incense and lit them one by one.

He knelt in front of the altar and kowtowed to the ancestors of the two houses, and then he got up slowly.

The incense in his hand gave off faint green smoke, and he walked up to the altar, but he didn't dare to insert the incense into the incense bowl.

He has a handicap and is truly ashamed of his ancestors. Today, lighting incense for the ancestors of the Erfu has fulfilled his wish.

Carefully put the incense in his hand beside the incense bowl, Wan Xiao turned and left.

When he walked out of the house, he happened to see Jin Shu and his wife entering the house from the outer courtyard to get the wooden bench. Jin Shu wanted to take it by himself, but her husband stopped him.

Wan Xiao saw the two nodded slightly, turned around and returned to the main courtyard to sit back on their seats.

"Hey, why did Master Wandu come here?"

Jin Shu looked at Wan Xiao's back with doubts in his eyes, the man looked at the small room in front of him, pursed his lips slightly, and then walked in.

"Brother Chengzu, what are you doing?"

Jin Shu followed and walked into the house.

The two of them saw three sticks of incense placed horizontally on the altar, the incense was still burning, and the green smoke circled up, even if there was no wind, they would swim inexplicably.

"This……"

"This is what Lord Wandu did? Why did he..."

The man stepped forward, remained silent for a moment, took the still burning incense and raised his hand to insert it into the incense bowl in front of him.

"Let's go, we still need to entertain guests."

"Is that what Wan Du Lord did?"

Li Chengzu said: "Yes."

"why?"

Wan Xiao was not the kind of person who acted without behavior, how could he suddenly do such a strange thing?Jin Shu couldn't understand it, so he raised his head and asked Li Chengzu.

"Maybe..."

He hesitated for a moment, and said after a while: "Perhaps I want to show a little filial piety."

This was said so strangely that Jin Shu couldn't understand the true meaning for a while.But Li Chengzu didn't talk much on weekdays, and most of the time he was considered taciturn, but he treated her very well. Jin Shu was used to believing his words.

After the wedding of the two, Wan Xiao and the others all left, and Jin Shu then opened the congratulatory gifts from everyone one by one.

Song Wan gave her a gold, silver and emerald head, which is valuable and can be handed down from generation to generation.Heng, Zhi, Heng and Wu gave her an embroidered picture of a hundred sons and thousands of grandchildren, which was extremely joyous.

Sister Luan Jian gave her a gold bracelet, which was also very precious.

Only the brocade box Wan Xiao sent was quite familiar to her.

Jin Shu was taken aback for a moment, held it over and opened it.

I saw a small note inside to congratulate the newlyweds, and there was nothing else.

Inside the box was still the box of pearls that she asked Song Wan to return to Wan Xiao.

"It turns out that Lord Wandu's pearls are for celebrating my wedding."

Li Chengzu said: "It should also be used to protect your food and clothing."

"Ok?"

Jin Shu raised his head, with puzzled eyes, Li Chengzu said with a smile: "This thing is expensive and easy to sell. If you live without money in the future, this thing can save you in an emergency."

Looking at Jinshu's round eyes, Li Chengzu stepped forward and gently stroked her hair.

"It turns out that's the case. I didn't expect Wan Duzhu to look indifferent, but he is still a delicate person. He really treats me very well."

Li Chengzu nodded slightly, with a touch of emotion in his eyes that only he could understand.

The candles were extinguished in the house, Wan Xiao stood on the Cuiwei Building and looked in the direction of Jinshu, smiling relievedly.

After tonight, there will be Wanxiao in the world, Li Chengzu, and Jinshu will have a husband.

After tonight, he can finally let go of the burden in his heart and the guilt towards Jinshu's family, and look up to the world without any regrets.

Standing on the high platform, Wan Xiao spilled the wine in his hand to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

After tonight, after a few years, the Zhang and Li families of Baoding Mansion can continue to extend their blood and inherit the ancestral aspirations of the second mansion.

Picking up the jug again, Wan Xiao poured himself a cup and drank it with his head up.

After today, he finally...

Finally, he can be worthy of Jin Shu, Zhang Bo's family, and his own parents.

After finishing the wine in the jug, Wan Xiao put the jug aside with a smile, and strode back to the palace.

Ji Rong had been waiting for him at the gate of the palace for a long time, and when he was about to go back to his room, he saw Wan Xiao walking over from outside with ease.

"I thought you wouldn't come back today."

"You think I won't come back, why are you still guarding here?"

"..."

Hearing this, Ji Rong shrugged his shoulders slightly, and he didn't know why he was so worried. Looking at him now, he was happier than himself.

"I know you are worried about me, so I will find good wine to give you in the future."

The two wandered towards the inner palace, and as soon as they stepped into the Qianqing Gate, they saw several imperial doctors from the imperial hospital, and were dragged by the eunuchs beside Shen Qianyu towards Changle Palace.

Wan Xiao frowned, but Ji Rong raised his hand to grab someone, and asked hurriedly, "What happened, why did you run in such a hurry?"